Sunday, January 06, 2008

New Year Goals and Planning

This is the time of year when many of us write down New Year resolutions ( I like to think of them as goals) and plan new daily/weekly schedules. I have been busy putting Christmas decorations away and deep cleaning the house. A new week is beginning and I have a plan of going to bed at a decent hour and getting up before....oh, let's not go there. ;0)

Here are my New Year Goals:

~Read my Bible everyday~Exercise 3-4 times a week~Give the girls and Benjamin piano lessons~Do a monthly nature study~Weekly family night (we will make homemade pizzas and play board games)~Learn how to crazy quilt~Teach girls new skills (Benjamin is in boy scouts, so he will be learning plenty of new things)

I work on my weekly and daily schedules several times a year, but it always feels good to get things back to normal (whatever that is!) after Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Daily schedules are very personal things. What works for one person, doesn't work for another. Different personalities, family size, ages, size of home, schooling, extra curricular activities, etc. have to be taken into account. My schedule was much tighter when the girls and Benjamin were younger. Now, after schoolwork is finished, I like to keep the afternoons more flexible.

I found these simple planners at Walmart for $3.50 each. The girls and I spent some time this weekend filling in birthdays, address, and our weekly and daily routines.

I had a wonderful visit with my friend, Revee this past Friday. She and I brainstormed new ideas for the New Year. She had her girls write down specific skills they want to learn this year. I loved this idea and had Grace and Emily make a list. You can see Emily's list in the above photo.

Morning, afternoon and evening routine for the girls.

There is a small section for each day. Mondays are "deep clean bedroom" day. We will be concentrating on cleaning under the beds and organizing nightstand drawers tomorrow. The post-its can be moved around: showers are for every other day and letters are written once a week, so Tuesday's section won't have them. The girls and I will take a few minutes every evening and go over the plans for the next day.

Benjamin's list is posted on the fridge for easy access.

For the weekly menu I took a sheet of paper and used a post-it note for each day of the week's dinner. This way if I'm not in the mood for Chicken pot pie on Tuesday I can move the post-it to Thursday, etc. Here is a perfect example of different schedules : Grocery shopping once a week doesn't work for me. I would always forget things or not get enough of something, so now I go twice a week. Usually Monday and Thursday afternoons.

I have one more thing to show you. The girls and Benjamin each got a "Webkinz" for Christmas and have been spending too much time on the computer. (But mom, my frog needs to eat!). I'm pretty sure this is another idea I got from my friend, Revee that has worked great. Each child gets daily "computer tickets." I chose 4-15 minute tickets per day and once they get used up, that's it until the next day!

Thank you for taking a peek at my scheduling and planning goals. I can tell you from experience that our days won't go exactly as planned, and that's ok. Clothes will be left on the floor, there will be dust bunnies in the corners, and dinner will turn into "make your own sandwich" night. My new year's goal list looks very similar to last years, but I feel better with a plan in place and goals to better myself and my family. As we start the new year, I am reminded of this cute little verse we learned several years ago:Try, Try Again

'Tis a lesson you should heed,Try, try again;If at first you don't succeed, Try, try again;Then your courage should appear,For, if you will persevere,You will conquer, never fear,Try, try again.

I will be happy to answer any questions you have about our weekly/daily schedule plans!

I've always been a big fan of lists and schedules and have the kind of naturally organized nature that allows me to keep to them pretty well most of the time. I really enjoyed reading yours, hope they all work smoothly for you:) And Happy New Year!

Your Benjamin's list reminded me of when I was about 6 years old. I can still remember making my own early morning schedule. My sister and I had a pony then and we had to make sure we went to the barn to give him feed before we went to school. Now, 30+ years later, I sometimes struggle with being on time but it makes me thankful to have had a mom who knew how to help us put things in order - even when we didn't really want to. Have a great week.

I greatly admire your organizational skills...and what a great thing to teach your children....a truly important life lesson.

I have always been an effective list maker. I have found, though, that now that it is just my husband and I, I have fallen off the wagon. I have noticed lately how often I comment that I never get anything done anymore, Time to start getting serious about my daily schedule again! Thanks for the inspiration.

The postits are a wonderful way to do that! I've been working on my calendar, too, and may incorporate the postits into my planner, moving them from one week to the next. Good idea.I loved your very last paragraph. It is nice to know that our sweet little "guru" also has those 'make your own sandwich' days.Nancy

You know, I decided to share one more thing. Lori, at "Musings from a Proverbs 31 Wannabe" is teaching on how to design your goals to make them more easily attainable. I've already received some truly useful ideas from her. Her info meshes so beautifully with yours, Kelli. I'd encourage people to go and see.http://wannabethatgal.blogspot.com/Nancy

Hi Kelli - once again you are spurring me on to good things - we really need to get organized again!!! I have set aside an hour this afternoon to get a start on cleaning up the clutter on my desk so that I can get to work revising our school schedule and making goals.

Our kids love their Webkinz too!!!! Our daughter is Peprmt (for Peppermint our cat!) and our son is 2FaithfulKnights - they would love to be added to your kids friends list if they are of a mind to be friendly! I love how the site is so safe and innocent for the kids and that they can only make positive and encouraging comments to one another. The only thing I don't like (besides the price of all the accessories!!!) is the tendency to promote greed and that happiness come when you go shopping for your pet!!! The kids have found that some of their small doll clothes fit just fine and we have decided that you really can live without $6 body glitter and lip gloss - really!

We also struggle with screen time limits but setting the timer is working out well. They get an hour total per day - including t.v./video and computer time - except that Dreamer takes two Switched on Schoolhouse classes on the computer so she gets 1/2 hour per day for science and math. I like the tickets idea too!

We are enjoying unseasonably warm weather today so the heat is off and windows are open and I can hear the birds singing! Yeah! God is good!

Dear Kelli, good idea to make all those lists. Organisation means a lot to me too. Well if you have a family, you have to be organised. Hope you and your family had a good start into the new year. Looking forward to read your wonderful posts.

I liked reading your goals. I like to feel organized too. If I make a plan I feel I accomplish much more. Another thing I like is a To Do list..love to check off finishes what doesen't get done I carry over to the next day. Have a nice evening Linda

Wow Kelli I am impressed!! I could never stick to anything so detailed. I have tried the planner thing before but it always falls to the wayside. I tend to do things impulsively which is not always a good thing!! Happy New Year!

Welcome! My name is Kelli and I am originally from Ontario, Canada but now enjoy living in Texas with my three teenagers. Grace is 18, Emily is 17, and Benjamin is 15.
I'm a work-at-home mom and in my spare time I love to decorate, antique store treasure hunt, bake, and celebrate the four seasons.
Please join me as I share photos and stories, along with some recipes and favorite things thrown in for good measure!